


Picture a Second Chance

by Shatterpath



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, SO MUCH FLUFF, Steggy Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 01:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5521079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A glorious day before Christmas for Peggy, Steve and family.</p>
<p>Or: One way things should have gone for Peggy and Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picture a Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Tumblr's Steggy Secret Santa Exchange and I really enjoyed how it came out! It feels remarkably complete for a mini-verse and I even managed to find a solid ending after staring at it for a good while!
> 
> A special shout out to the AnonNinja for her help in getting this thing moving. You know who you are!

It was everything he had thought it would be and so much more. 

A second chance. A love he'd wanted so badly he could hardly breathe for it. A surprisingly normal life he relished all the more for the insanity come before.

Knowing what a light sleeper Peggy was, Steve blinked open his eyes and was amused to find her warm gaze already clear and awake. Half stretching and half pulling his customary sprawl into something more decorous, he gave her a mock sour look. "How do you always manage to be awake before me?"

That earned a sparkling smile, smug and adoring. "I'm just that good, darling."

That made him chuckle, echoing her grin and dragging his weight over the mattress to kiss that enticing curve of lip lingeringly. "Mmmm, yes you are."

The separation of death and an impossible reunion sat heavy and grounding between them. That grand, sweeping hug and lusty kiss, VE-Day come at long last to the young lovers and a blurted proposal of forever that both shocked and was exactly what each wanted. Then she'd climbed down and punched him hard enough to spin him, leaving the rest of the SSR stunned silent. Steve had laughed so hard his face and ribs ached, coyly flirting away her mixed emotions until all that was left was happiness.

"What are you grinning about?"

Nope, he never could get anything past her.

"Remembering you sluggin' me in front of the whole office."

It was only later she was sheepish about the violent outburst, and was still faintly sheepish about it now. Steve just soaked up her high emotion like warmth, chasing away the ice that never seemed far away without her heat. Nuzzling over her chin and throat, Steve pressed open-mouthed adoration to her skin, humming softly in pleasure. They'd gotten good at this with time, the blending of bodies in echo of their hearts, be it slow and gentle or rough enough that he winced over the bruises he would occasionally leave behind. Peggy never seemed to mind though, teasing him relentlessly unless he marked her up in a way she had a tough time covering up. Then she got in a huff and left him feeling like a kicked dog. The fellas at the office could still be jerks sometimes. 

"Come back to me, Steve."

It was a low, soft demand and he gratefully pushed the rest of the world from his thoughts to concentrate on her. It wasn't often enough they had enough time together, their life constantly choked with distractions. Ah yes, and there was the main one now. Sighing together, neither moved for a long moment, lingering in the heat of their bodies close.

"I got 'im," Steve finally said and gathered himself to get up, temporarily stymied by Peggy wrapping herself around him like a snake and kissing him like the world might end again. Bamboozled top to toe, he could only stare like a lovesick idiot when she let him up, smug as a cat.

"Well go on then."

"Tease."

Pausing to yank on some pajama pants for decency, though he sure wasn't exactly decent sporting his personal weapon in the soft cotton. Yes, his Peggy was a tease and he loved her all the more for it. The sprawling house Howard had given Peggy and her best friend remained mostly quiet and Steve was relieved. Good, Angie hadn't been woken yet. With her insane Broadway hours, she needed the sleep or would be a bear. Padding quietly across the hall, Steve didn't bother with a light, merely scooped up his fussy cub. 

"Hey, Buddy Bear, you're up early today."

He was a handsome kid, lean and sturdy with a waifish face so like the small man Steve had once been that it startled him sometimes. Thank everything holy he'd finally started growing some real hair, rich and thick and nearly as dark as his mother's. Whatever the serum had done to fix the laundry list of aliments that had plagued Steve so seemed to indeed be gone for good, Phillip a blissfully normal kid. Bringing the squirmy bundle back to the master bedroom, Steve left the baby to get his breakfast, dispensed adoring kisses and went to make tea and coffee.

The water was just boiling when he heard the familiar, tell-tale squeak of the pipes leading to Angie's shower and he shrugged and added water and coffee grounds to the percolator. She was a huge help and a good friend, and the least he could do was provide some coffee for too-early of a morning. He hummed happily to himself through preparations and carried the three mugs to the main hallway, calling out for Angie to come get her wakeup call. As she was prone to forget she was half-dressed, he kept his eyes on the ranks of pictures that had slowly taken over the walls beyond the public parts of the massive penthouse. 

He'd found the good camera amidst the detritus Howard had left behind and decided to keep it. Heavy and well made with a spectacular lens in it, the thing would take amazing pictures. It also had some sort of flash in it that never seemed to need replacing and none of them were willing to ask about that. Peggy had taken it to the office to check for radiation and that was about it. 

So, yeah, Steve had found the camera and had been a bit of a madman with it, driving Peggy up the wall. His favorites had a place of honor, alongside other milestones trapped by other cameras. Wedding pictures, both beautifully formal and completely silly, like the whole scruffy lot of Howling Commandos and friends pulling up trouser legs and dress hems to show off ratty army boots, Angie laughing off to the side. Even Phillips had gotten in on that one, smirking where he had an arm around Peggy from the opposite side as the happy groom.

Speaking of Phillips, there was that magnificent picture of the happy honorary grampa cradling his tiny namesake on the day of his birth. And said tiny guy doing his long growing process, the slow changes in Peggy over the months of pregnancy. From the shy little bump tugging at her slip, to the rounded swell that stretched her so. The memories made him misty and he handed off one of the mugs of coffee to a drowsy Angie as she stumbled into his peripheral vision.

"Be safe out there!" He called out after her. "Tomorrow's Christmas and you need to be whole and hale."

Nodding and still mostly incoherent, she vanished back to her end of the house to finish getting ready for her day. With a last, fond look at the photos, Steve did the same, happy to soak in the view of the real thing. 

"And without the camera," Peggy sassed affectionately. "It's a Christmas miracle."

"Y'know, someday, you're going to be grateful I hounded you all those months."

With Phillip sated and drowsy, Peggy was all too happy to show Steve how grateful she was for everything. At some point, they'd be to self-conscious to fool around with baby close, but neither minded for now. Besides, they had to have something to torment him with when he was grown. 

Sated and drowsy, Steve was happy to press his face to his boy's side while Peggy showered. Regardless of his receiving the super serum, lovemaking left him wrecked while Peggy would bounce around like a kid on Christmas morning. It was all very amusing.

But there was no rest for the elder Rogers, Phillip only dozing for a bit and roused by his mother getting dressed. He was in a good mood, wiggling and flirting until his parents laughed.

"It's stopped snowing, my darlings. What do you think about a little walk?"

While Phillip didn't understand the words, he knew her smile and was always delighted for it. So the baby was tucked up against his father's chest beneath several layers of wool and a miniature down blanket to stay warm and safe. Steve was happy to walk with his most beloved people and toss snowballs and listen to Phillip squeal at his parent's laughter, quieting when Steve kissed the chill away from Peggy's lips. The family was together, deeply in love and safe as they could be. 

"Oh look, darlings," Peggy said, leaning away from her boys with a wide smile. "It's started snowing again. Dance with me?"

Forever over aware of the dance they had missed, they made up for it whenever they could, swaying there in the falling snow with Phillip tucked between them.

Steve ignored the familiar click-whirr of his camera, hoping the pictures Angie was snapping from the doorway would be good enough to keep forever.


End file.
